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See a meteor shower in the August sky

A meteor shower offers a special treat for viewers.

The Sky Guy is giving up some of his space this week to the ongoing and very cool Treasure Quest clue, but he didn’t want you to miss what you can see in the August sky. Look for his column on Aug. 14.

There are some interesting things in the heavens during August.

Mars and Saturn are found just above the western horizon after sunset. We hope the Red Planet has a visitor as the Mars Science Laboratory, named Curiosity, was scheduled to touch down on Monday .

This August offers an even more unique celestial treat for even the casual observer. The Perseid meteor shower will peak during the evening of Sunday-Monday.

In a dark location with clear skies, the Perseids offer more than 100 meteors, or “shooting stars,” per hour. Realistically, however, an observer in Florida will notice about one per minute. They will appear to originate from the constellation Perseus in the northern sky.

Observing conditions for this event are nearly optimal this year. The moon will be a thin crescent that rises at about 3 a.m., making the sky relatively dark throughout the night.

The Perseids are the result of Earth plowing through the debris path of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. Dust particles strike our atmosphere at speeds averaging 50,000 mph, causing them to vaporize. We see this as a streak of light in the night sky.

The best way to observe a meteor shower is simply to make yourself comfortable in a secluded area, lie back and enjoy the show.

Tom Webber, the Times-Union’s Sky Guy, is the director of the Bryan-Gooding Planetarium/Alexander Brest Space Theater at the Museum of Science & History. He writes a column each month in the Life section and also lends his expertise when there’s something special going on, or just when he feels like it.